Unto the members of the Lochac College of Heralds does Lord Thomas Flamanc of Kelsale send greetings.

This month there is not much to say other that all seems to be going well. I should also like to remind people that they can not be Seneschal of a group as well as Herald and that all group heralds should subscribe to CAMeL and your group should really pay for this. They should also keep the copies of CAMeL when you step down. If you know your group herald or a group herald in your area is not subscribed please try and get them to to do. If all group heralds subscribe there is a good chance that CAMeL will drop in price.

Your servant,
Thomas Flamanc of Kelsale
Crux Australis Herald.

Those nice people who came and helped!

This month due to various problems with holidays, parties and family things I was unable to hold a meeting but I am indebted to my wife, Pedr and Adrienne and the West Kingdom Email commentary team who were able to help without being at a meeting.

Future meetings will generally be held on the second Sunday of the month at my place starting about 2pm. Please call ahead as it is somewhat variable and occasionally the meetings go "on tour".

Submissions

1. Armandie, Canton of
Northern area of Barony of Innilgard.

Resubmission of group name. French.

Armandie can be found on p48 of Morlet[5] in the statement "... n. de domaine: Armandie." which I believe translates as "... name derived from the farm of Armandie."

Consulting Herald: Armand de Rochefort and Thomas Flamanc of Kelsale

 

2. Bryony Beekeeper
Mundane Name: Brenda Bartels
Group: Innilgard

Name Change. English.

This is a name change from Bryony of the Bees. Bryony is covered by the grandfather clause. Beekeeper is intended to be an occupational surname. Although we can only document "beekeeper" to 1817[8] this name should be justifiable based on the example of "house-keeper" dated to 1536[8].

The submitter is also willing to accept "Beehyrd" which can be documented to the 15th century from the OED.

 

3. Ciaran Bran
Mundane Name: Peter Poole
Group: Innilgard

New name and device. Per bend argent and sable a raven close sable and a bordure counterchanged

Language: Gaelic

Ciarán is found on p51 of [2] and Bran is found as a first name on p33 of [2] as well as the surname Mac Bran on p24 of MacLysaght[4]. Harpy feels that this is a justifiable name and based on the documentation provided here I am inclined to agree with her.

The device, whilst unbalanced and having a counterchanged bordure, is most probably acceptable and appears free of conflict.

Consulting Herald: Self

 

4. Jean Pierre de Sable
Mundane Name: Stephen Evans
Group: Aneala

Device resubmission to Principality. Or a flying fish sable

This gentle's name was submitted on the Lochac January LoI. At the same meeting as his name was considered his device was returned due to unidentifiablity of the major charge. This has now been corrected. The depiction used in this emblazon is taken from p271 of Parker[6] where it is documented to 1598 in the arms of Henry Robinson, Bishop of Carlisle. It is defined as "... a herring with the wings of a bird".

 

5. Tomas de Valle de Bravo
Mundane Name: Michael Morison
Group: Innilgard

New name

Language: Spanish Tomás can be found on p345 of de Love[3]. "de Valle de Bravo" is a locative formed from a location SW of Mexico City. It can be found on p97 of the Britannica Atlas[1] page reference H9. It is about 100° West and 19° North.

Seeing as we can neither confirm nor refute that it existed in period, nor do we have the references to support this as a name we have opened it to the College for their assistance.

 

6. Ulf Lowis
Mundane Name: Brett Lodding
Group: Stormhold

New name and Device. Sable a bend sinister engrailed between two wolves heads caboshed argent, an arrow inverted sable.

Language: Norman French

Ulf: Documentation cites Searle noting about 20 references, mostly 10th and 11th Century, including one for 'a Norman' (1050-1062) on p467. Also noted in Reaney and Wilson[7] under Ulph dated c1095.

Lowis can be found in Reaney and Wilson[7] on p278, under Lewis, where they cite Geoffrey Lowis dated 1202.

The device should be clear of:

• Sable, on a bend sinister bretasse between two towers argent, a tilting lance sable (SCA Arron Blackhawke 06/88) with a CVD for the change of line of division and one for the change of type of the secondaries,
• Azure, on a bend sinister invected between two crux ansata argent a wooden recorder proper (SCA Cathleen the Hwistlere 04/89) with a CVD for field and one for change of secondaries, assuming that proper to sable and recorder to arrow are not enough to justify a CVD for the change of tertiary (in which case it is not worth mentioning) and
• Per bend sinister sable and gules, on a bend sinister raguly argent between a plate and a wolf's head erased argent an arrow sable (SCA Siegfried Wulfgang von Brandenburg 04/91) with a CVD for field, a CVD for the change to half of secondaries and possibly a CVD for the change of line of division.

 

Returns

Morrígan Scáthach
Mundane Name: Kylie Green
Group: Innilgard

New name and device. Per pale sable and argent in sinister chief an increscent sable.

Language: Irish Gaelic

This name is being returned for a few reasons; firstly, Morrígan is the name of the Irish godess of war and was not used by humans in period. Scáthach is, however, a first name (derived from the word for `shadowy, ghostly, frightening') and is in Ulster to mean female warrior. There is also an "Otherworld personage", who taught Cúchlainn the use of weapons"[4]. Whilst Scáthach is a perfectly acceptable first name, it is not a surname. So apart from the overwhelming allusions to mythical powers, neither element can be documented in its place.

The device also has a few problems. The increscent was blazoned as a decrescent which has been fixed, but the increscent is far too small and in one corner; it should take up as much space as possible whilst staying in chief.

Consulting Herald: Armand de Rochforte and Ysmay de la Mor

 

Tomas de Valle de Bravo
Mundane Name: Michael Morrison
Group: Innilgard

New Device. Per Saltire vert and argent a gurges counter-changed with in a bordure or.

This device is being returned because the college has a ban on counter changed gurges as they are unidentifiable.

Consulting Herald: Aiobell der Daghán

 

References

1

R. Cole, editor. Brittanica World Atlas. William Benton, Chicago, 1968.

2

D. Ó Corra´in and F. Maguire. Gaelic Personal Names. The Academy Press, Dublin, 1981.

3

Francisca Arana de Love. Nombres Propios Españoles. Editorial Vosgos, Barcelona, 1982.

4

Edward MacLysaght. The Surnames of Ireland. Irish Academic Press, Dublin, third edition, 1978.

5

Marie-Thérèse Morlet. Dictionaraire Etymologique des noms de Famille. Perrin, Paris.

6

James Parker. A Glossary of Terms Used in Heraldry. Charles E. Tuttle Co. Publishers, Rutland, Vermont, 1970.

7

P.H. Reaney and R.M. Wilson. A Dictionary of English Surnames. Routledge & Kegan Paul, London, third edition, 1995.

8

J.A. Simpson and E.S.C. Weiner, editors. The Compact Oxford English Dictionary. Clarendon Press, Oxford, 2nd edition, 1991.

 

Laurel Registrations January 1997

Rhiannon of Camrose. Name and device. Per pale vert and purpure, three lacy knots Or. Note: Rhiannon has been Ruled SCA Compatible.

Sebastion von Thüringen. Name.

Þorfinn Hrolfsson. Name change from Thorin Hrolfsson.

Wystan of Walsende. Device. Per pale gules and azure two sea-lions combattant argent.